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According to the info I read and hear on the local radio, 2 guys from Nevada drew a black bear tag for Montana..they went hunting up north near the Idaho.Montana border..the guy with the tag shot what he believed was a black bear..wounded it and the bear ran into thick cover..the two guys went into the brush to finish him off..the bear come out attacking the hunters friend..which was actually a grizzly and not a black bear..killed him before the hunter could get the bear killed...

That is basically what I have heard, read and listened to on the local radio..

Ironically, my workout partner was bow hunting south of town last weekend and got charged by a griz as well...he filed a report with the local fish and game office..I will post it below..incredible story...told him last night, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result..

Here is my friend Johns story..

-----Original Message-----
From: John Martin [mailto: .com]
Sent: Tuesday, September 20, 2011 10:37 AM
To: undisclosed-recipients:
Subject: A Hunting Adventure

So, for those of you that I haven't talked to, I had my 5th "bear encounter"
in the last 7 years on Saturday. This was very different than previous experiences as it was a full charge by a very large boar. While I would rather be lucky than good any day of the week, there was truly divine intervention here. It was certainly the hand of God at work...any of you have ever seen me run can attest to that!

I was hunting on Saturday morning and moving through the timber towards a bluff overlooking a creek. I had heard two bulls talking to each other and was working my way towards them. I walking on the trail through a large meadow. Towards the edge of the meadow I spotted the biggest boar I've ever seen in the wild standing right on the trail, 25 yds in front of me, nose in the air.

I was about 50 yds from any sort of cover in the middle of a large meadow on a very steep incline. I slowly backed up on the trail until I couldn't see him, then turned and ran as fast as I could for the timber I had just come from. I heard a very large GRUNT/WOOF/GROWL and looked over my shoulder to see the bear coming at me in a full charge. The vision I have in my head is of him hovering above the ground, back feet passing his front feet, rapidly closing the short lead I had on him.

I was getting close to the trees where I hoped to get enough cover and time to draw my pistol. I jumped between two large trees on the down hill side of the trail, grabbing some branches with my left hand and swinging down hill and around the tree to the left. I felt something hit my upper arm and a split second later heard a large thud. I spun around and drew my pistol and watched the boar tumble down the hill, head over heels for about 30 yards.
He finally got his feet under him and kept running downhill into the timber.

Then the adrenaline rush hit me...to say I was shaking is a profound understatement; I'm not sure the gravity of the situation had set in. In fact, I'm not sure it has yet and just typing this is making my heart race.
I looked at down at my arm and it was covered...in mud, Not a scratch, not a bruise!..some part of him had actually hit my arm while we were flying through the trees. I was calling Lonnie on the radio and he wasn't answering. I couldn't figure out why...we both have Garmin Rino GPS/radios that communicate each other's respective positions with each transmission.
Well, after a bit of confusion on my end, trying to figure out how to adjust the volume, I found out he had heard every word I said, heard the panic in my voice and was already on his way back to me. We met up a few minutes later and I recounted the story to him. We decided to call it a day and headed down the mountain to the main trail.

We were walking out and came across a set of fresh bear tracks in the mud.
The boar had continued down the mountain and hit the main trail for a while.
I have attached a few pix above of the tracks. His paws are about 6" to 7"
wide. His back paws, from heel to claw, are nearly 12" long (last pic). Pix
3 - 5 show his front paw print, the indentation in front of the pad indentation is where his claws hit the mud.

When you hear that bears are quick or fast, it is true. This whole incident, from me spotting him to watching him go into the timber took less than a minute. I'm guessing he was somewhere in 500 lb range and maybe a 7' bear, certainly the biggest bear have ever seen in the wild. I consider myself more than lucky, especially given the recent grizzly fatalities...2 hikers in YNP over summer, another hunter this weekend on the MT/ID border, and a grizzly killed by a bow hunter in the Gravelly Range last week. Even the bear specialist at FWP that I reported this to agreed that there needs to be a hunting season on them. Their numbers are far greater than what is being reported in the media and they are not afraid of humans.

I'm VERY thankful and fortunate to be able to relate this story. PLEASE be careful in the outdoors whether you are hunting or hiking. Take a gun, take pepper spray or take a partner. Or better yet take all three!

He is a lucky lucky man ...

Per the Fish and Game officer..he also agreed there are many more Griz in the area than the media or goverment lets us know about..its as I stated in a previous post..they dont want the numbers to be higher as it might actually force them to make a decision on opening a season on griz again..thik the last time there was one was in 1987...secondly, tourists want to see griz at a distance ..not on the lap..so it would harm local tourism..hence less money for everyone including th gubament..

...

the griz have lost their fear of humans in this area...and as such there will be more and more encounters..have lost count but its been either 4 or 5 humanoids killed by griz this year...and now they are really getting after it as winter is fast approaching..they need to add calories to make it through the hibernating sesason..so, with archery in full swing, hungry bears with no fear..let the bears begin...

Ripp

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ALL MEN DIE, BUT FEW MEN TRULY LIVE..

Edited by Ripp (22/09/11 05:24 AM)